Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has disclosed that the sum of ₦41 billion has been earmarked for the upgrading of the Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan to international standard.
This was as the governor said the airport upgrading project has been awarded to Messrs Craneburg. He added that he will ensure that the project is delivered in the next 12 months.
The governor spoke on Wednesday during the ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrading of the airport to international standard.
Governor Makinde also assured that the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport will connect the state to the global market after upgrading.
He said the upgraded airport would also improve the ease of doing business, bring in investments in agribusiness, manufacturing and technology sectors and position Ibadan as a true regional business hub.
The governor said the decision to upgrade the airport was taken based on data and logic. He added that it is a strategic investment that includes a first and second phase that will culminate into the upgrading of the airport, the runway, airfield lighting, terminal and other critical facilities.
“Let me specially thank the members of the committee, who worked on the project in the last six weeks to make it possible for the official groundbreaking ceremony to take place today.
“Some people do not think that upgrading this airport at this time is a good idea, but the decision to upgrade this airport to international standard is based on data and logic. In the next 12 months, this project will be delivered. I will push the envelope.
“This airport will connect Oyo State to a global market. It will improve ease of doing business, bringing investments into agribusiness, manufacturing and technology sectors and positioning Ibadan as a true regional business hub,” Makinde said.
The governor listed MRO and cargo facilities as some of the features the upgraded airport would parade, describing the project as a strategic investment that would be delivered on time and within budget.
“This is the first phase; the groundbreaking is the first phase. The second phase is the terminal itself. Once we do the runway and air-field lighting, we will have the terminal and they will be delivered about the same time.
“We don’t want to wait. After this groundbreaking, the committee will be working to kick-start the process that would ensure that complementary projects within the airport are also going to start.
“I want to congratulate Craneburg for winning this bid. They gave us the lowest bid and they are working on the Circular Road. So we know what they are capable of doing. We gave them an impossible deadline on the Alao-Akala Memorial Highway and it was delivered,” he said.
Governor Makinde assured residents of the state that the Presumptive Tax Law recently passed by the Oyo State House of Assembly will not be implemented at this time.
The decision to delay the implementation of the Law, he said, was in view of the general hardship facing the people. He stated that his government will only fight poverty and not poor people.
He said: “We took an important decision yesterday (Tuesday) at the Executive Council Meeting. We know times are hard and Nigerians are hungry and angry. But I hope this will not boil over.
“But in Oyo State, we have control over what we can do here. I can see that the House has passed the Presumptive Tax Bill.
“Yes, it came from us because if we need to expand economy, we need to generate money. I will sign it into law but we will not implement it for now.”
Makinde said his administration would only promote policies that would leave money in the pockets of the people of the state so that they could spend same on areas important to them.
He stressed that his government would not do anything to deliberately hurt the people. He disclosed that the government had paid due compensation to land owners who lost their property to the new Air Force Base being constructed in Ajia.
Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has vowed to revive and complete the almost 12-year-old Osun Airport project.
He said the completion of the project would lead to the exit of Osun as the only state in the South-West without an airport.
He made the declaration at the flag off of the upgrade of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport by the Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde.
Adeleke, who commended Governor Makinde as “a man of vision and a passionate agent of development”, said “we are pushing ahead with a very ambitious governance agenda.”
He saluted Makinde’s drive of leaving behind a good legacy of impactful innovation and infrastructure revolution to the people of Oyo State.
Adeleke stated: “We are building roads, bridges, and flyovers. We are upgrading schools, health centers and reviving agriculture.
“We have turned Osun into a huge construction site. We adopt local content policy to deepen the local economy, create jobs for our people and spread skills acquisition.
“Like Governor Makinde who is Mr Actualiser of Oyo State, I am in a hurry to take Osun to an agro- industrial, export-oriented economy.
“I am glad to announce to this August gathering that our government has concluded plan to complete the almost 12 years old Osun Airport project.
“Our airport vision is now upgraded to include a cargo terminal alongside a free trade zone under a PPP arrangement,” the governor said.
In his welcome remarks, Commander, National Air Defence Corps, Nigerian Air Force, Ikeja, Lagos, Air Commodore Victor Ajiboye, assured that, upon the completion of the upgrading of the Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan would be better positioned as an economic hub in the South-West Nigeria.
Representative of the Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola Family, Chief Akinwunmi Akintola, thanked Governor Makinde for remembering and honouring the family with the legacy project.
In their separate remarks, Acting Chairman, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Francis Balogun, and representative of Airport Community Development Association, Dr Ogunsesan, thanked the governor for the initiative and his vision of upgrading the airport to international standard after 40 years of existence.
Chairman of the Airport Upgrade committee, Mr Bimbo Adekanmbi, equally said the project would promote economic growth and enhance passenger experience.
